MWE Correspondent
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed the appointment of 115 women to parliament under the special-seats quota, with one slot still pending as elections in the Fuoni and Siha constituencies await conclusion.
Out of the 115 names released, the ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has secured 113 seats, while the opposition Chama cha Ukombozi wa Umma (Chaumma) has been assigned just two.
From Chaumma, the two appointees are Devotha Minja — former running-mate to the party’s presidential candidate Salum Mwalimu — and Sigrada Mligo, who contested the Njombe Town constituency. CCM’s list features a number of returning faces: several former MPs previously expelled from Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema) such as Cecilia Pereso and Salome Makamba; and Bonnah Kamoli, the former Segerea MP (2015-2025) who lost in the general election but now returns through the special-seats route. Also nominated is Mary Pius Chatanda, national chairperson of the CCM Women’s Wing and a member of its Central Committee.
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INEC noted that the appointments were made in accordance with the Constitution and the Elections Act No. 1 of 2024. The 13th Parliament is slated to convene for its inaugural sitting in Dodoma on 11 November 2025.
This outcome underscores CCM’s dominant hold over the legislature’s special-seats allocation, while also casting the opposition’s role in this parliamentary term in a more limited light. The special-seats system is designed to enhance gender representation, yet its operation this round has highlighted the overarching influence of the ruling party in the process.
With the remaining seat still to be filled after the postponed polls, eyes will be on how the formal opposition may leverage its few slots, and how returning and newly-appointed lawmakers navigate the dynamics of the new parliamentary term.
